


what happens in busan

by chatsdelune (greymooses)



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: 5 seconds of angst, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Coffee, Dancing, Drinking, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Stargazing, Texting, Weddings, bi!hyungkyun bc bi awareness ftw, but no real smut, don't touch me, enough sex refs that i'm just making it m fuck it, even if they had sex in changkyun's kitchen, kihyuk are good dads, literally so many dumb cliche tropes, my bucket hat kink is showing, side kihyuk, some gross usage of "baby" bc they're gross, the gg members are plot devices i'm sure jihyo is great, there's a lot of it, typical wedding shenanigans u kno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:48:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22854244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greymooses/pseuds/chatsdelune
Summary: an all-expenses-paid weekend away, and all changkyun has to do is pretend to be hyungwon's boyfriend for a few hours at his ex's wedding.sounds easy enough.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Im Changkyun | I.M
Comments: 14
Kudos: 166





	what happens in busan

**Author's Note:**

> i couldn't decide if i wanted to write a road trip au or a fake relationship au, so i combined them and this happened? they're literally the softest babies i'm so sad about it. [wedding](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERRlalAUwAABAoB.jpg) [outfits](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ERRDQB-XkAA_xnN.jpg). pls forgive any weirdness bc i barely edited this.

gay, gay, gay.

changkyun is so, ridiculously gay.

bi, technically. but right now? gay.

listening to his own high-pitched internal shrieking for hours in a car was not anywhere near the top of his list of preferred activities for this weekend, but here he is, shrieking internally on the way to busan for a stranger's wedding, as a plus-one for a friend of a friend, because said friend of a friend is _driving_ and looks impossibly good doing it.

seriously.

how does someone look like an angel and a demigod and, frankly, a whole fucking meal, just sitting behind a steering wheel?

changkyun doesn't get it.

objectively speaking, he shouldn't be that hot. he's wearing a _bucket hat_. who the hell wears bucket hats?  
  
  
  


**dads**

who the hell wears bucket hats?  
no, scratch that  
who the hell wears bucket hats and looks good in them?

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
not me, sadly.  
but this feels like a rhetorical question  
i assume you met hyungwon

i hope your sex weekend is worth my pain

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
you're so dramatic.

 **ki hyung**  
changkyun i'm so sorry he's hot  
that must be terrible for you  
deal with it  
minhyuk if you don't get off your phone and on me in the next thirty seconds

OH GOD WHY  
I HATE YOU BOTH

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
just talk to him  
he won't bite unless you ask  
you have a lot to learn if you're going to pull this off  
  
  
  
it's not that hyungwon is a _stranger_. he's good friends with minhyuk, has been for years, and he helps kihyun with photography projects sometimes, but changkyun only met him a few days ago.

hyungwon is a dancer.

they generally run in different circles.

seoul is a big place.

it's hardly changkyun's fault.

hyungwon clears his throat, pulling changkyun’s attention away from his phone, and unnecessarily adjusts the rearview mirror. "thanks again for doing this," he offers. he speaks with a lilt that changkyun finds extremely calming, which in turn is extremely unnerving.

so, ridiculously gay.

"i owe minhyukkie hyung countless favors and you basically offered me a free vacation," changkyun replies, attempting nonchalance. he thinks maybe he succeeds, but then hyungwon flashes a smile at him and he feels like a swarm of bees have made a home in his chest. "so how well do we need to pretend to know each other, exactly?"

"minhyuk didn't tell you?" hyungwon asks, then carefully licks his bottom lip.

"he told me you broke up with someone, needed a plus one, would drive and pay for everything, and to — quote — get out of the apartment for the weekend so ki and i can have sex in the kitchen — end quote."

"it's my ex-girlfriend's wedding."

"not the person you recently broke up with, i hope," changkyun quips. it pays off when hyungwon huffs a laugh.

"my high school girlfriend," he replies, grinning. "we're still friends, our lives just took us in different directions."

he goes quiet while he carefully merges into traffic, and changkyun watches seoul disappear behind them in the side view mirror because the alternative is watching hyungwon’s face as he concentrates and that’s too much to handle.

after a minute, when the car is moving at a normal speed and the traffic has thinned out, hyungwon visibly relaxes. he settles back into his seat and drops one hand into his lap.

"so she knows you pretty well, then?" changkyun asks, flipping his phone over in his hands on his lap. "won't she know i'm not the same guy?"

"pretty well, but we have about five hours in this car and the whole day tomorrow before the wedding. i’m not worried," hyungwon says. "she knows you're a different guy, i just fudged the timeline a bit." he’s tapping one long finger on the steering wheel, along to some imaginary beat, and changkyun wants to scream. "rapid fire questions for facts and then we trade stories?"

"sounds good," changkyun agrees. "should we start with the present or the past?"

hyungwon sits up a little bit straighter again and brushes the fringe under his hat away from his eyes. "whatever you want. pick a time of my life and drill me, baby," he says flippantly.

changkyun’s internal shrieking gets just a little bit louder.  
  
  
  


**dads**

**minhyukkie hyung**  
changkyun my child  
are you alive  
has hyungwon eaten you yet

 **ki hyung**  
min, do you ever think about what you say before you say it

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
you had no problem with my mouth 20 minutes ago leave me alone  
changkyunnieeeeee

again, i hate you both  
my brain is overloaded  
we’ve been quizzing each other because apparently the person getting married is his high school girlfriend, so i need to know so much information.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
you’re not screaming about how hot he is omg where is changkyun you’re clearly an imposter

not an imposter  
listening to him talk has made me shockingly zen, that’s all

 **ki hyung**  
aww. min, i think your son has a crush.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
ㅠㅠ

i refuse to crush on a guy that wears bucket hats.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
i’m so screenshotting this.  
  
  
  
okay, changkyun maybe has a crush. and maybe it's a fast and hard one, because the nature of this trip requires learning weeks worth of information in hours. somehow it hasn't been weird to share things about his own life in return; things that not even minhyuk knows, like the truth about how his family dog died when he was seven.

but it's nothing, because it can't be, because they have their own lives, and they'll definitely go back to them when they get home.

it doesn't quiet the screeching in his head every time hyungwon smiles at him, but changkyun likes knowing things. memorizing facts and creating mnemonics to go along with stories so he can get through the weekend is its own reward, somehow.

a couple of hours into the drive, well into hyungwon telling him about his first failed college entrance exams, changkyun wonders why he didn't just tell his ex he broke up with his boyfriend and go to the wedding solo, but he doesn't ask. don't bite the hand that feeds you and all that.  
  
  
  
they stop at a service plaza about an hour outside busan to kill some time. they order food and sit at a table and eat in silence, at least until changkyun gets up the nerve to ask his second most burning question.

"this isn't really relevant, but do you want to talk about the breakup?"

hyungwon shrugs, pushing food around his plate. "he wants to move overseas. i don't."

"i'm sorry."

"it’s fine. i might’ve been more willing to consider it if he hadn’t been so sure i’d do whatever he wanted, but he was unwilling to make any sort of compromise and that doesn’t say great things about the relationship in the long run."

"still, breakups suck."

"what was your worst?"

"worst how? catastrophic handling of the situation, dumbest reason, or overall sadness?"

hyungwon tilts his head, the corners of his mouth twitching. "whichever one you want."

"a guy in high school broke up with me when i was in the hospital for that ankle thing, girl a couple of years ago said she couldn’t handle knowing i was attracted to men, and the one i dated after her broke up with me via a game of hangman."

"hangman," hyungwon repeats in disbelief.

"yeah. it’s kind of funny now, but i really liked her at the time, so that sucked."

"i'm sorry. you deserve better."

"a better breakup?" changkyun asks, amused.

hyungwon opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but reconsiders and diverts his attention back to his food. he pushes it around his plate again for a moment and changkyun wonders if he ever actually eats.

"just better," hyungwon mutters after a moment. he seems maybe kind of sad? wistful? changkyun can't quite tell, but he's done eating and hyungwon isn't making any more progress. he's staring at his plate blankly, in fact, lost in some faraway world. his hair is flattened from the bucket hat and he keeps running his hand through it, probably subconsciously, making it stick up in strange places.

it's really, really cute.

changkyun clears his throat before asking, "are you done?"

hyungwon startles and looks up at him with a blank look on his face — eyes wide and jaw slack — and the fucking bees are back again.

no man should be this adorable without a warning label. "beware: will disarm you with unexpectedly soft facial expressions" should be stamped on his forehead.

or something.

hyungwon rubs his eyes and blinks a few times before standing. he stretches his arms over his head and changkyun's eyes dart to his stomach where a sliver of skin is exposed, because of course they do, because changkyun's brain has no control over this situation at this point. maybe when he's had some sleep it'll be easier.

"yeah," hyungwon tells him, collecting his own trash, "let's go grab snacks and get back on the road."  
  
  
  


**dads**

i think i'm gay

 **ki hyung**  
…  
changkyun

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
hahahaha  
what did he do now

he barely ate dinner but has demolished so much junk food  
who does that  
why is it cute  
what's wrong with me

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
ohhhh yeah he does that  
never thought it was cute myself but he's not my type so

 **ki hyung**  
he's not your type? you once told me your type was anything with a mouth and an ass.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
too tall  
i like my men short, babe, you should realize this.

can we focus on me please  
what am i supposed to do

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
changkyun, hejdkskdkdkdlqlsldddddd

 **ki hyung**  
ignore min.  
changkyun, just. do what you went there to do. be his boyfriend for the weekend. stop overthinking it.

...  
stop overthinking it.  
that’s all you’ve got for me.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
kihyun is rude and needs to be taught a lesson, but he's not wrong. don't fuck him but just. have fun for the weekend. stop thinking.  
now if you'll excuse us.  
we love you.

useless.  
you two are useless.

  
  
  
  
the motel is a quaint little oceanfront place. it's not incredible, but seems clean enough and changkyun isn't paying so he really has no right to complain. hyungwon has been inside the office for ten minutes, though, and he's starting to get restless when he spots him in his blue striped shirt and awful, awful bucket hat exiting the door with a key in his hand.

"so, problem," hyungwon tells him, leaning his face inside the car. "they don’t have any double rooms left. i figured you live with minhyuk so you’re probably used to sharing, but if you don’t want to, we can try to find somewhere else."

changkyun’s mind starts processing faster than it should. it’s true that minhyuk clings. sometimes that means changkyun’s bed is _their_ bed. but minhyuk is minhyuk and hyungwon is hot. on the other hand, trying to find another place to stay this late for a weekend might be impossible.

somewhere, alarm bells ring, but he waves a hand in the air and says, "it’s fine."

"you sure?"

"yeah," changkyun nods, opening his door and getting out of the car. he makes eye contact with hyungwon over the roof and smirks. "minhyuk sprawls _and_ steals blankets. you can’t be worse than him."  
  
  
  


**dads**

EMERGENCY

 **ki hyung**  
i’m not helping you bury a body

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
who died

you wouldn’t help me bury a body? :( i thought we were friends.  
me. i’m going to die.  
we got to the room and i let him wash up first right  
and he came out in pajamas and GLASSES  
and now i’m sitting on the toilet freaking out

 **ki hyung**  
minhyuk, you deal with this. i can’t.

i’m not _using_ it.  
oh yeah  
i forgot  
there’s one bed

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
one! bed!  
i couldn’t have plannddsffffffffffffffff

 **ki hyung**  
ignore him  
apparently i have to deal with this.  
changkyun, you know i love you, but this is decidedly Not An Emergency.  
you share a bed with min all the time.

UGH I KNOW BUT  
WHY ARE YOU TWO SO BORING AND COUPLEY AND HAPPY  
I JUST WANT TO BE MELODRAMATIC

 **ki hyung**  
about your unfortunate luck spending a weekend away with an attractive guy  
yeah we know

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
changkyunnie, i’m sorry i didn’t adequately prepare you for hyungwon-ssi’s hotness.  
when you get home i’ll spend a whole night feeding you ice cream and listening to you be melodramatic, okay?

thanks, hyung.  
i should go before he thinks i’m doing something weird.  
but like.  
the GLASSES.  
sigh.

  
  
  
  
changkyun takes a quick shower to release some of the tension in his muscles after being in the car all day. when he's drying off and slipping into a t-shirt and shorts, his brain reminds him sharing a bed isn't a big deal. hyungwon has kept their bubbles of personal space intact, and will probably do the same when he sleeps, and there's no way changkyun will wake up to an embarrassing boner-against-ass situation.

he exits the bathroom to find hyungwon has already climbed into bed, sitting with his back against the headboard and flipping through the channels on the television.

hyungwon looks in his direction and waves. changkyun laughs quietly and waves back, mentally slapping himself for being useless, before asking "what are we watching?" as he climbs into bed.

"i was waiting for you. movie?"

he flips through the options and lets changkyun decide on one — a lame romcom because it seems safe — before pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

changkyun tries to watch, but the couple on the screen isn't a couple yet and the woman is having a meltdown about the man holding her hand and it reminds changkyun that there's still a huge thing about tomorrow that they haven't talked about.

"hey, so what's the deal with affection?"

"usually when two people care about each other—" hyungwon starts, still watching the movie.

"no, i mean you," changkyun interrupts. "or us. at the wedding. how gross do we need to be?"

hyungwon lets a beat pass before replying with a simple, "oh."

"i don't have a problem with… i just wanted to make sure we're on the same page, since she knows how you are in relationships."

"well, boyfriends are a little different because, you know. society. i'm more reserved with them than when i was with her." for some reason, changkyun's stomach turns at the idea of hyungwon hanging all over a woman. "i don't think she'd expect us to be kissing or anything. hold my hand and maybe i'll put an arm around you because you're absolutely tiny. oh, and you have to dance with me."

changkyun doesn't know why he does it, but he reaches out before he can think to stop himself and grabs hyungwon's pinky awkwardly with his own, brushing against his knee in the process. the angle is terrible because of his arms being wrapped around his legs and their fingers slide apart, leading to a deafening thud when changkyun's hand hits the blanket.

hyungwon stares at him for a second, then snorts and unwinds his arms. "smooth," he says, dropping his hand, palm up, in the space between them.

"i'm not tiny," changkyun protests, sliding his hand into hyungwon's.

"if you say so," hyungwon says, crossing his legs and pulling their joined hands into his lap.  
  
  
  


**dads**

**minhyukkie hyung**  
i know it’s 3 in the morning  
but i hope you plan on updating us on what happened tonight  
with the GLASSES and everything  
because i’m on the edge of my seat here

 **ki hyung**  
minhyuk, i’m going to strangle you  
changkyun, ignore him.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
you wish your hands were big enough to fit around my neck

 **ki hyung**  
you’re literally right next to me and he’s asleep why are we doing this here

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
exhibitionism?

i woke up and i was not a spoon!  
so that’s great news.  
we might’ve fallen asleep holding hands though  
you guys are probably still asleep that’s fine  
just know that as always, i hate you.  
don’t fuck in my bed. 🖤

  
  
  
  
they get breakfast in the morning, quizzing each other on trivia from the day before over their meals and copious amounts of coffee. changkyun intentionally misses hyungwon's mother's name, solely to make him scrunch his nose up, because he hasn't in a while and changkyun needs to know if it's as devastating as he remembers.

yes. the answer is yes.

hyungwon pays, and on the way back to the car, they stop in a coffee shop to get drinks to go. changkyun takes blatant advantage of the situation while they wait, clinging to hyungwon's arm like a koala and resting his head on his shoulder.

as stupid as it sounds to call it practice, he can't be awkward at the wedding, he rationalizes.

"you're not tired, are you? did you sleep okay?" hyungwon's low murmur cuts through the noise around them.

"i'm fine, i just thought… people around, might as well."

their order comes up and hyungwon shakes him free to step forward for their drinks. when he has them, he hands one to changkyun before putting an arm around his shoulder and steering them to the door.

"tiny," hyungwon says confidently.

changkyun rolls his eyes. "what does my father do for work?" he asks instead of arguing, and it starts another round of quizzing each other. he could shrug hyungwon's arm off, but he doesn't, not until they get back to the car.  
  
  
  
back at the motel, hyungwon showers first. changkyun feels _bleh_. his mind won’t be quiet and his stomach feels like there’s a brick in it — a combination of restless energy that would work really well in the music studio or the engineering lab and the desire to curl up in a hole and sleep. he pulls out a bluetooth speaker and turns on some music, but it doesn't help, and he nervously fidgets in the room anyway. he checks his wedding outfit for wrinkles more than once, even though minhyuk assured him it would be fine when he ironed and packed the clothes for him, and it is.

hyungwon is a problem.

he’s gorgeous and sweet and funny and way out of changkyun’s league.

changkyun is doing him a favor, and that’s all this is. yeah, maybe he didn’t hate being tucked against hyungwon’s side. maybe he could imagine spending hours studying in silence, or meeting up for lunch between classes, or going on double dates with minhyuk and kihyun, but none of that is realistic, because nothing about this is real.

changkyun sighs and flops onto his back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

he’s still there a few minutes later when the bathroom door opens, so stuck in his head that he didn’t even hear the water turn off. hyungwon walks out, dressed, with his jacket over one arm, and a pitchy, choked laugh bubbles out of changkyun. he can’t help it, because he’s wearing two of the three pieces of a black, pinstripe suit. he’s foregone the tie, but it doesn’t matter, because no one could possibly look as good in the outfit as he does, tie or no tie.

he stops and narrows his eyes at changkyun. "does it look that bad?"

god, changkyun could cry.

"no," he says, sitting up. "are you kidding? everyone is going to know we aren't really dating solely because you look like that and i—"

"need to get ready," hyungwon says, nudging him on the shoulder. "i'll do my hair out here, so go."  
  
  
  


**dads**

**ki hyung**  
otters hold hands when they sleep :(

yes hyung thank you for reminding us you spend too much time on twitter.  
3-piece, pinstripe suit  
what is oxygen

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
idk you’re the biomed person you tell us  
  
  
  


**minhyukkie hyung**

hyung. :(

changkyunnie. :(

i like him. :(

i know. :(  
would you believe me if i told you it’s going to be fine?  
and said again to just stop thinking and have a good time?  
leave two or three buttons undone, by the way. and wear the accessories i packed or so help me.

no, but thanks for trying.  
ice cream when i get home right?

first thing, i promise.  
  
  
  
weddings are _boring_.

hyungwon is next to him in the church pew, hands to himself in his lap, watching the ceremony with a small smile on his face. his ex is beautiful, and changkyun would be lying if he said he wasn't pleased she was off the market.

which is unfair, because he knows they broke up for good reasons, would never get back together, and he has no right to feel possessive.

one of the bridesmaids winks at hyungwon when she makes her way down the aisle after the ceremony, though, and _that_ seems like a fair thing to be annoyed about.

changkyun elbows him, leaning up on his toes to whisper in hyungwon's ear, "who was that?"

"i have no idea," hyungwon admits, frowning.

"i think she likes you."

hyungwon makes a noise of agreement, eyes watching her leave the church, before snapping his attention back to changkyun. he awkwardly raises a hand and unnecessarily adjusts the pendant on one of changkyun's necklaces, fingers brushing against his skin.

it doesn't feel like he's being burned or anything.

changkyun is _fine_.

changkyun looks up and their eyes meet, briefly, before hyungwon pulls his hand away, clearing his throat.

"it was crooked," he says, and changkyun knows that hyungwon knows he knows it's a lie, but he smiles enough to let his dimples show anyway.

no thinking, minhyuk said, and they have a reception with an open bar to get to.

"thanks," he says, grabbing hyungwon's hand tightly before turning to join the line of guests filing out of the church.  
  
  
  
the thing about open bars is that they probably shouldn't exist, changkyun decides, because he pays little attention to how much he's drinking, especially when the bridesmaid from the church finds them during the reception and asks hyungwon to dance.

it's changkyun's fault for not being clingy, he thinks — either him or the whiskey, anyway. she had no way of knowing they were supposed to be together. changkyun watches her throw her head back and laugh at something hyungwon says, her arms over his shoulders, and he scowls at his plate.

"changkyun, right?" hyungwon's ex asks, sliding into the seat next to him. "hyejin. it's so nice to finally meet you. thanks for coming."

she's changed out of her wedding dress and into a sleeveless black thing with a cutout over the chest, and a long slit up the thigh. she's smiling brightly at changkyun, looking absolutely thrilled with how her day is going, as she should be.

"you, too," changkyun replies, smiling softly. "thanks for having me."

"wonnie has told me so much about you. it's nice to finally put a face to the name. where is that string bean, anyway?"

 _wonnie_ , changkyun repeats to himself, then takes a sip of his whiskey, letting it burn on the way down.

"dancing with one of your bridesmaids," he answers, nodding his head in their direction.

hyejin turns in her chair and scans the dance floor for a moment before spotting them and audibly sighing.

"jihyo. you should go claim your man before she gets any ideas, and i should keep greeting people, but make sure he finds me before you leave so i can say hi."

she leaves as quickly as she arrived, and changkyun stares at hyungwon on the dance floor. he looks like he's having a good time. technically, they're not together. he has no right to barge in. maybe hyungwon wants her number.

but the _bride_ told him to claim his man.

he should definitely listen to the bride on her wedding day, he decides, emptying his glass.

changkyun squares his shoulders, willing confidence into his demeanor even if he doesn't feel any, and makes his way towards the couple. jihyo is clearly flirting, obvious from body language alone, and changkyun has to remind himself to unclench his fists.

be charming, not aggressive. he's supposed to be yours, he tells himself.

the song changes to something slow when he's only a few steps away and he almost loses his nerve, but hyungwon catches his eye over the bridesmaid's head and mouths "thank god" at him, which he takes a sign that his intrusion would be welcomed after all.

changkyun slides up next to hyungwon and places one hand on his elbow, resting the other on his shoulder. he looks up and plasters the kindest mask he can on his face, nerves turning to steel when hyungwon offers a smile and a "hey, baby" in return, then unexpectedly drops a kiss on his nose.

jihyo looks at him, confusion evident, as she takes a step back.

"so sorry to intrude, but do you mind if i steal my boyfriend?" changkyun asks politely. "i just love this song," he continues, layering as much sweetness in his voice as he can.

"boyfriend," she repeats, eyebrows furrowed.

"i'm not much of a dancer, unfortunately. thank you for keeping him entertained until now," changkyun pushes on.

"you're welcome, i guess," she says, clearly disappointed, before bouncing back to normal. "call me," she tells hyungwon loudly, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek, then she turns and walks away, heels clicking on the floor.

changkyun snorts.

he can't help it.

hyungwon shakes his head, pulling changkyun around to stand in front of him. "finally," he complains, wrapping his arms around changkyun's back.

"finally?" changkyun mocks, bringing his hands to rest on hyungwon's chest, keeping a safe distance between them. "i was watching you. you could've gotten out of that so many times."

hyungwon raises an eyebrow at him. "you were watching me?"

"yeah," changkyun admits, then deflects, "your suit is hard to avoid looking at."

"do you really like this song?" hyungwon asks, deftly changing the subject.

"yeah, i do."

hyungwon takes a step forward then, pulling changkyun flush against him. changkyun is forced onto the balls of his feet, leaning into hyungwon's body for support, their faces centimeters apart. it's only for a split second, but it's long enough to make changkyun's heart pound in his ears.

changkyun mumbles a "sorry" as he finds his balance and pulls his face away.

"shut up and dance with me," hyungwon says breathlessly.

changkyun nods, moving his arms to hyungwon's waist and hooking his chin over his shoulder, and does exactly that for another six songs.  
  
  
  
the party winds down late. by the time they find hyejin and hyungwon has a chance to hug and congratulate her, changkyun is exhausted. even so, the weather is beautiful and the sky is clear, so when hyungwon suggests going down to the beach at ten o'clock at night, changkyun is inclined to say yes.

they make a quick stop at the motel to change. changkyun, without really thinking, strips his jacket and shirt off in the main room, digging in his bag for the hoodie he knows he packed. he only realizes what he's done when hyungwon coughs.

"oh, god, sorry. i'm tired and forgot you—"

"no, it's okay. um, it's… i'm always conscious of where i take my clothes off, but i understand why you aren't."

changkyun blinks at him. was that a compliment?

"your tattoo is gorgeous," he continues.

"thanks."

"you didn't tell me you had more."

"honestly, i forget i have them," changkyun explains. he finally finds his hoodie in his bag and pulls it over his head.

"because you don't see your own back that often," hyungwon concludes. he's just standing there in his waistcoat and pants, a couple buttons popped on his shirt, somehow still looking like he could be on a runway and giving changkyun his full attention.

"exactly. um, are you changing?"

"what?" he asks, looking at changkyun blankly for a second before his brain seems to catch up. "oh, yeah," he says, and retreats to the bathroom with a change of clothes.

tired. he's probably just tired.

there's no way he's acting all spaced out because changkyun took his shirt off, right?  
  
  
  
they stop for coffee on the way down to the beach. the shop is empty and they have absolutely no reason to pretend anymore, but changkyun stands closer to hyungwon than he needs to anyway, some part of him desperately waiting to be touched but too afraid to instigate it himself.

hyungwon changed into track pants and a hoodie, an outfit so far removed from what he was wearing earlier that changkyun has a hard time wrapping his head around how it’s the same person. his hair is still styled up and off his forehead, which only adds to the confusion.

changkyun is so gay.

hyungwon is so out of his league.

the barista hands them their orders and they make their way across the street to the ocean.

it’s late enough that there aren’t any people, and there aren’t many cars passing on the street, so the most noise changkyun hears is the water rushing its way onto the beach, waves breaking at regular intervals. the ocean stretches out in front of them in the dark, and he can see more stars in the sky than he’s ever seen in seoul.

"you’re quiet."

"tired," changkyun mumbles. "it’s been a long night."

hyungwon jabs him in the side with his elbow. "you danced like half as much as i did, old man."

"yeah, and drank like twice as much as you," changkyun laughs.

"we can go back and go to bed, if you want. i wouldn’t have dragged you out here if i knew you were that exhausted."

changkyun shakes his head, sipping his coffee. "it’s okay, this is nice."

hyungwon sits, right in the sand, and tugs at the leg of changkyun’s pants like a little kid. or a teething puppy. "sit, sit, sit," he chants, so changkyun does, leaving some space between them even though every muscle in his body is upset about it. when changkyun is settled, hyungwon leans closer and points at the sky. "that looks like a spider," he whispers conspiratorially.

changkyun chokes out a surprised laugh and turns to look at him. hyungwon’s face is serious, but there’s a playfulness right at the edge of his eyes, so changkyun hums in agreement.

"there’s a telephone over there," he joins in, pointing to their left.

"that doesn’t look like a telephone," hyungwon disagrees.

"an old, rotary telephone! yes it does!"

"oh, right, i forgot that you’re like forty. what about that one?" hyungwon asks, pointing high above them. "kind of looks like a penguin."

"okay, you’re _older_ than me, so shut up." changkyun tips his head back and looks at the cluster of stars. "looks like a chair to me."

"the penguin armies of earth are so offended right now," hyungwon deadpans, then takes a long sip of his coffee. changkyun locks eyes with him, trying to get him to break, but he ends up giggling first. hyungwon smiles at him around his straw before averting his eyes to stare out at the water.

they sit in silence — relative silence, anyway — for a minute. hyungwon’s hair gets caught by a breeze every now and again and changkyun wants to touch it, which is wholly annoying. he’s just sitting there, looking gorgeous, with a lap that changkyun could sit in if they were actually together, but they’re not.

"you don’t see stars like this at home," changkyun says eventually.

"yeah, definitely not."

changkyun has been stressed; university does that. he’s definitely been lonely, he just didn’t realize how lonely until approximately two minutes ago.

he doesn’t _want_ to be, and thinking back over the last two days, he wonders if maybe hyungwon _isn’t_ out of league, because there have been plenty of times when he went above and beyond to commit to the whole pretending thing.

"thank you for bringing me here," changkyun says, as sincerely as he can. "i thought it would be weird, but i really needed a break and it was a lot of fun."

"oh, no," hyungwon says dismissively, "are you kidding? you saved me. hyejin would’ve dragged me to hell and back if i had shown up without you."

it’s dumb, what he does.

just exceptionally stupid, for someone as smart as he is.

but something about hyungwon’s reply gives him confidence, because it’s almost an answer to the question of why hyungwon didn’t go to the wedding alone. the optimistic part of his brain thinks maybe, just maybe, hyungwon picked him on purpose. that’s how it works in movies, isn’t it? there’s always a twist, some huge misunderstanding, that everyone knows is coming except the couple.

changkyun sets his coffee in the sand next to him and moves to sit on his knees, facing hyungwon. he puts a hand on hyungwon's knee, grabbing his attention, and he turns his face to look at him, completely blank, like a deer caught in the headlights. it's only for a second, but it makes changkyun laugh quietly, because _oh_.

of course he's fucking falling for this bucket hat–wearing idiot.

hyungwon doesn’t say anything, just moves his own coffee to the side and brings his knees down away from his chest, long legs stretched out in front of himself. he hooks his fingers tentatively around changkyun’s elbow and nods, slight enough to be imperceptible if changkyun’s attention wasn’t locked on his face.

changkyun climbs over him in one easy movement, never breaking eye contact, and settles himself on hyungwon’s thighs as he leans down, watching his eyelids flutter closed just before meeting hyungwon’s parted lips with his own.

fingertips dig into his upper thighs, coinciding nicely with a whimper he draws from hyungwon’s throat. the waves continue to break against the shore behind him and it’s incredible. hyungwon’s bottom lip is perfect for nibbling, and he inhales sharply through his nose when changkyun pulls at it with his teeth before nipping back, pushing against changkyun’s lips, hands drifting to rest on his ass. he lets himself run his hands into hyungwon’s hair, holding his head gently and eliciting pleased little noises that make him think pulling would be a fun thing to do at a later date.

easily in the top three on his list of best kisses. one that sends little sparks down to his fingers and toes and makes him forget that they’re technically in public, at least until hyungwon breaks away, resting his forehead against changkyun’s and breathing heavily. changkyun tries to chase his lips blindly, but he dodges, and changkyun finally opens his eyes.

"we can’t…" hyungwon starts, and changkyun climbs off his lap, mentally kicking himself. "it’s late, i mean. we should go back."

"no, yeah, it’s late," changkyun mutters, standing and wiping sand off his pants to give himself something to do. they stare at each other for a beat and hyungwon looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t.

changkyun looks up at the sky one last time, trying to commit it to memory, then picks up his coffee and starts walking.  
  
  
  


**dads**

i can’t ride home with him  
i’m just going to stay here for the rest of my life

 **ki hyung**  
what happened?

i kissed him  
and he stopped me and said we can't  
and i can never look at him again

 **ki hyung**  
oh.

yeah oh.  
where's minhyukkie hyung

 **ki hyung**  
he's… occupied

gross

 **ki hyung**  
not like that  
sorry  
look, not to rain on your melodrama parade, but just talk to him?  
maybe there's an explanation  
but i'm sorry things didn't go the way you wanted them to, kyunnie.

hhhhhhhngh  
i want to climb in a hole

  
  
  
  
one bed.

there's one fucking bed.

changkyun is such an idiot.

hyungwon followed him back to the motel in strained silence. changkyun used the bathroom and brushed his teeth quickly when they got back, but hyungwon has been in the shower — probably washing product out of his hair — for the last twenty minutes.

he decides the chair looks perfectly acceptable for the night, curling up in it with a book before hyungwon has a chance to exit the bathroom and they’re forced to have an awkward conversation about sleeping arrangements.

he must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing he knows he’s being gently shaken awake.

"come to bed, changkyunnie," hyungwon’s voice says quietly. "come on, you can’t sleep in that chair."

"i’m fine," changkyun mumbles.

"you’re not going to be in the morning."

"don’t wanna sleep with you."

the shaking stops, hyungwon’s hands leave his shoulders, and changkyun groans when he realizes what just came out of his sleepy mouth. he cracks his eyes open and sees hyungwon sitting on the end of the bed, hair still a little wet and hanging down over his forehead, staring at him.

"sorry," changkyun offers lamely.

"it’s okay, i deserve that. you’re not afraid of me. it’s nice."

"why would i be afraid of a bean pole?"

"because i’m really hot? tall? generally intimidating? i don’t know, i’ve heard it all."

changkyun rolls his eyes. "okay, well. the only things that truly scare me are viruses and someone putting ink around my microscope’s eyepiece."

hyungwon cracks a smile at him, then sighs. "i’m sorry about how things happened on the beach, but you don’t—"

"it’s okay, we don’t need—"

"we do," hyungwon says with finality, "because you were sleeping in the chair, which means you’re upset."

changkyun groans, but then he remembers kihyun telling him to talk about it, and decides why not. "fine."

hyungwon pulls his knees to his chest on the edge of the bed and rests his arms on them. "i saw you on minhyuk's social media a few months ago, right after i broke up with my ex-boyfriend. you were wearing that hoodie in the picture, actually." he nods his head towards changkyun. "i had heard your name from him before, so i knew we weren’t likely to run into each other because of our schedules, but i thought you were cute, i guess."

changkyun listens to him detail how he ended up talking about changkyun so much that hyejin assumed they were dating, and how he asked minhyuk to ask changkyun specifically if he would go to the wedding with him, and puzzle pieces that were barely evading him start to click into place.

"i didn’t want to… you deserved to know the truth, before we kissed," hyungwon continues. "i shouldn’t have let it happen, but all i could think about was you standing shirtless in the middle of the room earlier, to be honest."

"my tattoos," changkyun says, head full of too much information and too little processing power.

"not just your tattoos, but yeah. you know you’re unbelievably attractive, right?"

"have you seen yourself?"

"i never said i wasn’t also unbelievably attractive," hyungwon quips.

"okay," changkyun mumbles, running through the last few minutes in his head. "so… elaborate ruse to hang out with me, because you had a crazy crush on me, and i need to kill minhyuk for playing a huge role in this mess."

"that’s the gist of it, i guess. sounds really stupid when you put it like that."

"it _is_ really stupid. incredibly stupid. you could’ve just gotten my number from minhyuk."

hyungwon shrugs. "not my proudest moment, looking back on how i went about it."

this is _insane_ , changkyun thinks, falling into silence because he has no idea what to say.

the last two days have been a whirlwind. somehow, it feels like it’s been so much longer than that. he just properly met hyungwon earlier in the week, they’ve already pretended to date, they’ve kissed for real, and what the fuck even is happening right now?

"will you please come to bed, now?" hyungwon asks, pulling his attention away from his brain’s rapid supernova-like collapse. "we can just sleep if you want, but that chair will ruin your back."

changkyun unfolds himself, setting his book in the chair behind him, and moves to stand in front of hyungwon at the end of the bed. "do you want to just sleep?" he asks.

"i have to drive us home tomorrow," hyungwon replies, moving his feet to the floor and his hands to changkyun’s hips.

"that’s not an answer, babe," changkyun tells him as he moves closer, bringing one knee onto the bed and then the other, straddling hyungwon’s thighs.

"i'm crazy about you. i don't just want a fling."

"mm, understood," changkyun says, reaching between them to pull his own hoodie over his head. hyungwon’s breath catches, eyes appreciatively falling to changkyun’s stomach. he drags his hands up changkyun’s back, fingers splayed, as his eyes move up his chest and return to changkyun’s face. "not a fling," changkyun whispers against hyungwon’s lips, watching his eyes flutter closed again before shutting his own.

hyungwon nods, rubbing their noses together, and _finally_ kisses him.  
  
  
  
the first thing changkyun registered when he woke up was warmth, followed closely by arms wrapped around him and a solid presence against his back.

turns out, hyungwon can cling, too.

they're on the way home, a couple of hours away from busan, and he hasn't stopped touching changkyun in some way since they got in the car. if their fingers aren't entwined, his hand is on changkyun's knee, or his fingers are playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, sometimes dipping under his collar to trace the top of his tattoo.

changkyun is more relaxed than he’s been in a while; certainly more than the trip down. he’s been reading his book and they have the radio turned on, hyungwon singing quietly every once in a while.

it’s really, really nice.

except the bucket hat is back, and instead of some irrational rage at how cute it looks, changkyun possesses irrational horniness.

for the last hour, he’s been thinking that home is very far away.

"hyung," changkyun says, closing his book and turning in his seat.

"changkyunnie."

"where’s the next service plaza?"

"there’s one in a few minutes, baby. are you hungry?"

changkyun pokes hyungwon’s knee with a fingertip, then drags it up his leg slowly. when he reaches his upper thigh, he flattens his hand, spreading his fingers out so they land very close to his zipper. "no," he answers.

"i'm driving," hyungwon warns, "a large piece of metal, at high speed, that could kill us or someone else."

"i know that, so stop at the next service plaza and find an empty corner of the lot so i can suck you off."

hyungwon glances over at him briefly, trying to gauge his seriousness, and it only makes the situation worse. changkyun wriggles in his seat, brazenly reaching into his waistband to adjust himself.

"oh, my god, you’re insane," hyungwon whines.

he makes his way to the exiting lane, though, ready to pull off at the upcoming plaza.

"i agreed to go on a trip with someone i had never met, babe. you should’ve known better."  
  
  
  


**dads**

hyuuuuungs  
do you know who the hell wears bucket hats and looks good in them?

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
who who

my boyfriend, that’s who  
like wow

 **ki hyung**  
and you have the nerve to call us gross

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
does this mean no ice cream? :(

 **ki hyung**  
babe, if you want ice cream, we can just go get ice cream.  
you don’t need changkyunnie’s misery for it.

yes, go get ice cream when we get back.  
just do it without me. so i can show hyungwon my room.

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
already???  
you’re just a baby!  
you should be courted properly before giving away your delicate flower!

oh my god  
you and i have literally had sex, minhyuk

 **minhyukkie hyung**  
… oh yeah.  
ew why would you remind me of that

 **ki hyung**  
why would you remind ME of that

because it was terrible and it’s hilarious  
anyway. we’ll be back by dinner time.  
do you guys want to order in or do you have plans?

 ** **minhyukkie hyung****  
no plans! would love to try to out-gross a new couple!

 ** **ki hyung****  
competition might be the only thing that makes watching you two suck face anywhere near tolerable.  
i’m glad it worked out, by the way.

me too. :)

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> uhhh... hyungkyun won't get out of my head. i was so close to writing the smut, but it felt Wrong. much love to [triviaeuphoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/triviaeuphoria) for helping me brainstorm so much of this fic and just being there to encourage me when i was flailing. comments and kudos are very appreciated, if you're so inclined.
> 
> also, minhyuk's keyboard smashing was kihyun grabbing his hands to stop him from blabbing. and when minhyuk was busy towards the end, he was dealing with hyungwon's simultaneous post-kiss freakout. and yes, minhyuk picked both of their wedding outfits. basically what i'm saying is minhyuk is the mvp.


End file.
